Before Grace can reply, the buzzer sounds, and the teams swarm back onto the ice. As the game gets back underway and the other girls get distracted cheering on their men, I feel myself sinking back into my misery. The pressure Mom and Dad are putting me under is tearing me apart from the inside out. I know I just got here, but I really thought being in Denver would somehow magically lighten the load on my shoulders. After that call with my mom, I realize I was naive to think that. No matter how well things go here, I still have this Leon situation waiting for me back home.
Suddenly, my phone buzzes. Fuck, is Mom going to try and guilt me into coming home again already? I thought we were done for the evening. Pulling out my phone, I blink in surprise when I see that it’s not Mom, but something even worse — a text from Leon himself.
Leon: Hey babe, when do I get to see you again? Heard you’re back in town.
How the fuck did he get my number? Wait, that’s a stupid question. Mom had to have given it to him. Is she hoping he’ll convince me to leave Denver since she can’t? The timing of this text is deeply suspicious.
He texts again.
Leon: I thought we could see the ballet at Lincoln Center this weekend. It’d be a good place for us to be seen together.
Huh. Okay, maybe not. He doesn’t seem to know I’m here. He thinks I'm still in New York. And he’s still sending more texts.
Leon: You can make up for disappearing on me at the gala.
I ignore his messages and try to focus on the game, having no desire to talk to him, but it’s only a few minutes before he sends another one.
Leon: ???
And another one.
Leon: Are you asleep? Why aren’t you responding?
This guy doesn’t know when to quit.
Leon: This is something we’re going to have to work on. I expect clear and prompt communication from now on.
Leon: I’ll let it slide for now.
Such a pompous asshole. God, I hope my parents don’t tell him where I am, but I’m not really holding my breath.
The roar of the crowd snaps me out of spiraling thoughts and I blink, looking around to see what has everyone so excited. Grace, Rylee, and Skyler are their feet, cheering like crazy.
“Go, Jayce!” Rylee cries. “Go!”
“Make that puck your bitch!” Skyler screams.
Grace is focused on her camera, following the action on the ice with her brow furrowed in fierce concentration. I so badly just want to enjoy this time with them. I hate the situation I’m in so, so much. Fighting the temptation to look at my phone again — it’s still buzzing with new texts — I stand up as well and look to see Jayce racing down the ice, pushing the puck ahead of him, looking like an unstoppable force as he goes straight for the other team’s goal. I watch him, stunned. He moves with such confidence. Such power. I can’t help but remember how he touched me with that same confidence and commanded me with an air of power that I found irresistible.
Shit, I can feel my cheeks burning, and what’s worse, my pussy is clenching with need. I squeeze my thighs together, trying to ignore the sensation, but I can’t stop thinking about our night together as he dominates the ice as easily as he dominated me.
“He’s going to do it!” Rylee screams.
The next second, Jayce pulls back his stick and slaps the puck with all his might. It’s as if the whole arena holds its breath as the puck goes sailing through the air, and when it goes past the goalie and slams into the net, the space seems to shake with the force of the crowd’s exuberance.
I get swept up in the excitement and start screaming, jumping up and down with the other girls as the buzzer sounds and the game ends. The Night Hawks win.
Jayce scored the winning shot.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a figure moving toward us across the ice. I assume it’s Jensen, Carter, or Zander, but Rylee lets out a baffled shriek.
“What’s Jayce doing?”
Startled, I turn just as Jayce reaches the edge of the ice, stopping by the team’s bench to grab something before continuing toward me. His gaze is locked on me as he removes his helmet and lets it drop. The girls are looking between the two of us, and I can practically feel the shock and confusion rolling off them.
“What the fuck?” Skyler gasps when Jayce reaches over the wall.
I’m just as stunned when he grabs me around my waist without a word and picks me up like I weigh nothing. The arena blurs around me, and all I can focus on is him, grinning at me. The cheer of the crowd is a dull roar as his hands hold me tight, warm and strong, heating my blood in an instant. Lifting me over the wall, he sets me on the ice next to him.
